anything there could be a peace dividend if we ever got to that where we'd be able to cut the budget deficit a la what happened in the '90s. i don't think you should look at this issue in a way to be able to make money off it, though. it's really not a needle mover. as a matter of fact, it can be negative for a lot of the defense companies as we know. they've been under a cloud because of these cuts. here's one from danny in new york. hi, jim. i've heard you say when considering playing the down side of an equity that you would short the stock rather than buy a put. please elaborate on your reasoning for this. i favor the high risk of a short position. i'm so glad you sent me this because if i've created any misperception that i favor shorting stocks, it is completely out of character with all my books and what i used to do at my hedge fund or before my hedge fund when i used to work for people at goldman sachs or when i was trading for myself. i always do puts, i rarely do shorts because as i write in "confessions of a street addict" i was the victim of a some bad short squeezes that lost m